Elevator caster



March 13, 1956 A. a. HOLTZ 2,73 7,682

ELEVATOR CASTER Filed Nov. 20, 1953 INVENTOR. HLBERT G. we LIZ nni ta e United States Patent 23371 ELEVATOR CASTER AlbertwGqHqltzyBllport,5N. Y. Anl fla i nlNoveniber 2,0, I' .1 z,5et l N 3 3,395 t t Cldims. (Cl.1-'6---32) "This invention relatesltotgastfimsand more particularly to iihfl tyn t f caster whi h :may :raise and lower d relative 1,0 vthe base or .leg or ,an article of ffurnitnre, egtijnment or tiheglilte .so that ,the ,article may rest. either gponlits ownlegs or ;base or nponits snpportingteasters. F rn'ituge or x eqttiprnent Lois .either ,provided with supp t ng easters orit is ,snpportedsona fioors or: the :lilge by legsqor-a base portion which ,rests ;directlyton rthfi .fioor. when ,the inniitnre or ,eguipment ,rests upon ;its ,base or a hility {i taehi ved, but, a the rs erifice f m ihility. Thus-furnitur l quipme tasuchas art l visiqn set or radio, is normally supported from its legs or base to achieve rigidity of mounting and to lessen damage to thetradi nr tel tisionts tsh uldtth del ea epa tthe 6f ih tsuhi e e "t a tbmnpigaorti in v-. n 1 0nrHQ' steta sheul t-ihh desit dt gmov zth furni utet r equipme t its another lo atio on met ly t tmove ait t mp HIiWr Q 'QPU 'PQ Q =o cleaning, e q-Hi eco e ditfi- 1: task when I the tumiture is ?Bl1 i @directly thy it nles llh gpr en inventi ontempl t ca e z-whieh may h ts euredrt ttlt Flea rt e fanta til int-s chtma he articl thut which @may he desired e mo ed t a position ti which tthey :SQPPQH :th tfull .wc ghtto i h arti l sThus, tth articl orma ly may th t rmly re d stabl-yisqnpa edi n the Ffloor mo he \SQPPOIT-EYI s-leg erthaae, rbut whe i :i d sire t move -;.the ar icl iqr any pt nzos wh tever, th hast ns may th ash tefi t a 245M91 ZhGE I QYQS BRQ @Ih :f W gh o thera iele s h t th art-iel -Je ti lymarbe mov d t i tn pl ee ortshitt d rtort le n ng 1 repa ring o ny I thenpurpo Whe tartinl thas been tm ved tmat .site .v new, tloca i nannm redtba tt titsreriginal'lq a iq aifinnl m ved ra ily, th ast t rmayr pshi em t .v ei inope airc pe ients rtha tth arti l tag i o tbefir l nd stab ytsunportedi mmtthefl byt ts e Qrhase- Jienfie he ,pres n tin emien ex ends l h -1. 9 tast r in it a emy estaacast rtsu abl to nap rti g-ttiele which hemtnfet tn rmally wet no :r-adapt da o he so: supported. More marti ulatly h s tin e tion ,trel e t ,a eas e uni v cornprised oft veral principal parts constructed and arrang d t ;p rmi t coast t t e s a e l and t relat-i t I h e {or r bas o vtan art cl {o :fium mnewqg ipmenttor therlik Th p ipa part io th eylin ri a app n n i ol r, =-a tG lt-i tmemher,thtaeltettmeanstaandtlqek ng meanstI tst a o t ia collar is provided with three evenly-spaced helioal earn slots whichhav flx ts tn tdqgte o wit lIh wast istst pnorted thy. h y indricalucollar hytmea .wq vt -0.41s whihl'lietin a-ihorizon al plan .an'id ri evvithinIh h al ct mslqtstt tpr id .asstbl ti hree DLSUBEA1$1OII for ,jthe .qaste (A Lqp r ti gf h nd i l idly s cured to thejro'ds so that'the assembly may be shifted as a unit to cause the rods'to move'npwardly anfd downwalfdly in the cam slots, thereby shifting-'theposition (if-the cas ter its lower, or artile snpporting--position, andits upper, or -inoperative "position, where the -furniture *or 419! {tha they n rmally [are not fiec v {for gap vti 2 tothe att c etisfinnlyta dzsta ly suppo t b so nle vor ibase. SnitableJockingmeans aretprov'ided Iorseeure- 1y maintaining the oaster in its ,lower, article-supporting gosfition. A hraltet is attached to ,the cylindrical collar 'to .faeilitatenmounting of the caster unit upon the ,side of the legs orj base of thearticle of furniture.

The ,invention will be described in greater ,-detail in connection with it-hedigawings which illustrate one tern- .hodiment ;of this invention. How ever, .ittwill E-he l understood that .the initention ,is mot limited to this ionei empdirnentfland other forms tare possible whieh wotlld lie .withinithe scope of the invention. Thescopetofrthis invention ,is defined ;and set forth in the attached :elairns.

In lt tdrawiqgs .Fig. 1 is a top plan-flew of a-casternnit r15. 2Qdying the invention, showing thecaster in;.its raised or nonsupporting position and ;also showing in dottedlines the fiflsterin .its lowered or sup orting-position.

Big. ,2 is ;an elevational'yiew of zthe castenunit, showing i .t;l1 e. easter in ,its ,ele atedtor non-supporting position.

"Rig. 3 is a sec tipnajl yiew on line 5+3 Of.Fig. :Lshowving the ts npporting;rneansgfor the caster.

Bi-g. s4 {is an eleyational \view "of the easier innit, -showing the caster in its lowered or ,snpporting position.

Eiais a e evational rviewyon .rli e e :Q ti a sh wingzmeans fq loc ing h i e r t t E 13 29 uppc tiag Pet t o h s (cast -q ni c mp ise HRPQ g means for the test r, i a .c te tsqnported by uc m ans, b a ke afa attaching-th iun t th jleg aQ an QI iQl tQ urnit e and me t ng mean fo ecu ng E the mete win its lowered-hr MP GlEF BPPMiiQE:PQSMQQ- Ihe s ortenin mean r th a t -cfimsista eyl ndtiea sh et-m a co a h vin en n eed he ica -.am g e [2 4- a i ffihe tth e zhelica team w tieg e pi With a fi shee .vmeta mlle i hee tm ta d pr ferably cimn a ina hape- @L n abpve th he meta sliswi tnf re g1 nd tetaim g i t x4, tse ured :t he di c b $8 rzsyita l m ans ea 2 y sold rin I 9 h t t L n tb mw; her h mt is-i ing plate 6411" the pastor. The monnting platejs also attache tt the heet Emeta tdi h ny su tabl "1 mean l r1;?y weldi g sold rin p eil lse.

@hmteinfmina-et n lp t fiti provided-with qor r-ugatiens-m a {an Ihes th e q maat qn form a triangle which gis -approximately ;zantegn;ilateral rianglei ft dtfiaz e tw hi h aspac me hyr o ig tion lmn aa. ro 8bzi t'po t on fltw th th ssnaee te med 2w mtn a itm 'l vfind-3& atte dst e qnr P Ph Yr 1fl1 1QQ fl ih ;Q lQ and ri e W in heliea tqam slot 12 and 7.2 2 .I d :81 ext nd be nd th neri het re th rz q la aton end ndndes wi hin el a sam 55 9' {Eheex rem o ed Sp ead 18 ar apr ifia dowth ead a en 1 1 re p e v l-y- Th extremity "-Q :ro i :r mq e from e h head :91: has handl E11 attaehedtthct rh n m vesa ta mean fo m vi tthem 8 n o a e h 16. 33 cam ot lqni ta dt ta n it l r in ian erin as-tc tsnpp iq -meen Z Th tm ntiag p tetfi, which 1 as already d s ribed i attached to; e rctilan discjii, carriesthecaster. {This qo np ise v 21i. ca e fr m s spende q the m unt n p t 2y' p w i f rm th .Ye t qa axis pfirot'atiomfortha caster. Plaeed betweenthe"bifnr cate'd 'fraine 12- and themounting plate 6 are rollerbearings L1'4 whieh serve-to reduce "frictionand increase the ease of rotation of the easterabout pin I3. Suspended between-the bifurcated frarne 121 by means of-an axle 16, which extends "through 4 the t free end portions of the "legs of the bifureate'd frame, is a =easter' roller-17. "The axle 16-serves as the-horizontal axis ofrotationfor the-=caster.

The caster unit is secured to the legs or base of an article of furniture, or the like, by a bracket 18. This bracket includes vertically extending sheet metal members 18a and 18b positioned at right angles to one another. These members may be formed either from extensions of the cylindrical collar 1, as shown in Fig. 1, or they may be formed from a separate piece of angled sheet metal and attached to the cylindrical collar in any suitable manner. A reinforcing bracket 19 comprising angled portions 19a and 1% preferably is attached to the bracket 18. The angled portions 19a and 1% are provided at their lower ends with extensions 21a and 21b, respectively, which are bent inwardly and at right angles to members 19a and 19b. The portions 19a and 1% are adapted to be placed beneath the leg or a corner of the base of the article of furniture. The brackets may be secured to the legs or base of an article of furniture by fastening means, such as nails, screws or bolts passed through perforations 22a and 22b in the sides of the brackets 18 and 19 and secured to the leg or base 23 of the article of furniture, or the like.

The means for maintaining the caster in its lowered or article-supporting position consists of a locking lever 24 pivoted to bracket 18 by means of a rivet 26. The inner end of the locking lever 24 is bent at right angles to form a locking portion 27. The portion 27 has a slot or notch 28 extending downwardly from its upper edge. The slot or notch 28 is adapted to be passed about the rod 8a when it is at the bottom of helical cam slots 2a and 2b and to securely hold the rod at the lower end of those cam slots and thereby lock the caster unit in its lowered position. To facilitate manual operation of the locking lever about its pivotal point, the outer end thereof is bent at right angles to provide a generally horizontally extending portion 29 against which pressure can be exerted to swing the locking lever about its pivotal axis.

Assuming that the caster unit is in its elevated position shown in Fig. 2 with the article of furniture stably supported on the floor by its own legs and it is desired to lower the caster unit to impart mobility to the supported article, the locking lever is swung to a position approaching the vertical position shown in Fig. 2 so that the portion 27 will not interfere with movement of the rod 8a in the helical cam slots 2a and 2b. The handle 11 is then grasped and moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, through an angle of approximately 90. This causes the rods 8a and 8b to move downwardly in the helical cam slots until they reach the lower end of those slots. As the supporting means for the caster unit is connected to the rods, it also is lowered and is brought to its articlesupporting position as shown in Fig. 4.

After the caster unit has been lowered, as abovedescribed, and while the handle is still grasped to hold the caster unit in its lowered posittion, the locking lever is swung to its horizontal position shown in Fig. 4 to cause the slot or notch 28 to pass about the rod 8a and thereby prevent the rods 8a and 8b from being forced back up the helical cam slots by the upward reactionary force exerted on them by the caster unit. The caster unit is now securely locked in its lower or article-supporting position and will remain in that position until it again is desired to have the article of furniture stably supported on its own legs or base. When that is desired, the horizontally extending portion 29 of locking lever 24 is grasped by the hand and forced upwardly, thereby disengaging slot or notch 28 of the locking lever from about rod 8a. The weight of the supported article acting downwardly upon brackets 18 and 19 will cause the rods 8a and 8b to ride upwardly in the helical cam slots until the rods have reached the upper ends of the helical cam slots and the caster supported from the rods has been raised to its elevated or non-supporting position as shown in Fig. 2.

The caster unit is preferably mounted upon the legs or base of an article of furniture so that the cylindrical collar 1 lies beneath and within the outer dimensions of the article of furniture. By so mounting the caster unit, the operating handle 11 and locking means are so positioned that they do not form a hazard to someone walking past the article of furniture. When so mounted, the handle 11 will lie parallel to the vertical face of the furniture when the furniture is supported by its legs or base; and the locking lever may be swung about its pivotal axis so that it extends vertically and parallel to the face of the article of furniture.

It will be understood that, if desired, either the sheet metal disc 3, or the reinforcing and retaining plate 4, or both could be dispensed with and the rods 8;: and 8b attached directly to the caster mounting plate 6. Also a different number of helical cam slots may be used, with a corresponding change in the number of actuating rods which lie within the helical cam slots. Likewise, any other form of locking means may be employed which will effectively cause the caster unit to be retained in its lowered, article-supporting position.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the invention provides a caster which normally may be moved to a non-supporting position, so that the article to which it is attached may rest firmly and stably upon the floor on its own legs or base, but which may readily be moved to a position in which it acts as a support for the article so that article may easily be moved from place to place. The invention also provides a caster unit which does not require special bearing surfaces, or lubrication to prevent binding of the parts during the raising and lowering operations.

I claim:

1. A caster unit comprising a cylindrical collar having a plurality of inclined slots positioned around the collar, a disc lying within said collar, a caster supported by said disc, a corrugated reinforcing and retaining plate attached to said disc, a plurality of rods lying within spaces formed by the corrugations of said plate and between said disc and said retaining plate, said rods extending through and adapted to move along said slots, a handle attached to one of said rods for moving said rods relative to said collar in a direction to cause the rods to move along the inclined slots, whereby the caster selectively may be raised and lowered relative to the collar, a vertically-extending bracket attached to the collar, said bracket having extensions bent substantially at right angle thereto adapted to be beneath and support a portion of an article, and a locking lever pivoted to said bracket for engagement with one of said rods for maintaining said caster in a lowered position.

2. A caster unit for attachment to an article adapted to rest on a floor, said unit comprising a cylindrical collar, said collar having a plurality of inclined slots positioned therearound, caster supporting means carried by said collar, a caster supported by said supporting means," elevating means secured to said supporting means and extending through and adapted to move along said inclined slots, means for moving said elevating means relative to said collar in a direction to cause the elevating means to move along said inclined slots, whereby said caster selectively may be raised relative to said collar to permit said article to rest on a floor, and lowered relative to said collar to an article-supporting position whereupon the article is raised 06 a floor and may be rolled along a floor while supported on the caster, and means for maintaining said caster supporting means in a lowered articlesupporting position.

3. A caster unit as set forth in claim 2 wherein said elevating means is a plurality of rods, said caster supporting means is a disc lying within said collar, and including a corrugated reinforcing and retaining plate securing said rods to the disc, said rods lying within spaces formed by the corrugations of said plate and between said disc and said retaining plate.

4. A caster unit for attachment to an article adapted. to rest on a floor, said unit comprising a member having at least one inclined slot, caster supporting means carried by said member, a caster supported by said supporting means, an elevating rod secured to said supporting means and extending through the slot in said member and beyond said member on both sides thereof, said elevating rod being adapted to move along said inclined slot, said elevating rod terminating beyond said member in a handle-section, movement of said handle-section being adapted to cause said elevating rod to move along said inclined slot, whereby said caster selectively may be raised relative to said member to permit said article to rest on a floor, and lowered relative to said member to an article-supporting position whereupon the article is raised 01f a floor and may be rolled along a floor while supported on the caster, and means for maintaining said position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hunting June 1, 1886 Neller Oct. 5, 1915 Smith Nov. 27, 1917 Perry Aug. 3, 1920 Johnson Aug. 14, 1923 Asher Aug. 20, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Feb. 10, 1911 

